All That Happiness Is

March 15, 2024
The longtime New Yorker writer waxes philosophical in this slim, aphoristic book. Gopnik, author of The Real Work, offers an extended essay on a positive and pleasing emotion. When he was 12, the author started to play guitar, and he recalls how happy he was when he first learned how to create "the ringing beauty of the G chord." "The sense of happiness I felt that week remains resonant," he writes. Next, Gopnik discusses the young Scottish poet Don Paterson's obsession with Japanese origami. "Genuine happiness," he writes, "is always rooted in absorption in something outside us, and begins in accomplishment undertaken for its own sake and pursued to its own odd and buzzing ends." He argues that accomplishment counts for far more than the "tyranny" of achievement because "it's more compelling than the concreteness, the trophy pressed in your hands." Furthermore, "learning to work hard is as important as learning to work well." Gopnik loves to cook at home, and chopping onions is "my entry to happiness." For French painter Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres, playing a violin wasn't just a hobby; it was a "parallel passion, and it fed the already fully achieved virtuosic technical level of his primary art." Thinking back on his guitar practicing, Gopnik writes, "accomplishment is bounded by the eternal truths of repetition and habituation and exhaustion and renewal." He posits a "pluralism of pleasures" that extends deeply into our imaginations and practices, and he is a big believer in open societies because they provide more space for accomplishment. Some of the other things that bring the author happiness are the music of the Beatles; walking and biking in Central Park, admiring the work of "one of my personal heroes," Frederick Law Olmsted; and, of course, the act of writing. Thoughtful contemplations on the pursuit to be happy.

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April 15, 2024
Happiness is found not in “something gained but in something lost—the loss of ourselves in something ‘other,’ ” according to this concise and elegant meditation from New Yorker staff writer Gopnik (The Real Work). In his view, happiness arises from “accomplishment”—an “engulfing activity” that yields fulfillment for its own sake rather than concrete reward, and is more lasting and valuable than the proverbial “trophy pressed into your hands.” (It’s also more elusive, partly because “the better we become at something the less pleasure it supplies inside.”) Recalling how he taught himself at age 12 to play Beatles songs on his guitar, a memory that remains “a touchstone” for “almost every meaningful thing I’ve done in my life,” Gopnik reflects on the particularities of accomplishment (it’s more accessible to amateurs and hobbyists than to professionals, for example) before broadening his scope to call for a pluralistic society that both supports and is supported by those who pursue their passions. While Gopnik’s notion of happiness seems designed specifically for artists, he constructs a convincing case for the pursuit of individual fulfillment as both an end in itself and a precondition for an open society with strong communal bonds. The result is a thought-provoking look at an eternally fascinating topic.

July 1, 2024

This title from New Yorker staff writer Gopnik (The Real Work: On the Mystery of Mastery) reads like a graduation speech. As expected, it gives excellent advice to those just stepping out into the workforce. Universal and profound, the advice equally applies to the middle-aged, anyone in transition, and even retirees. In Gopnik's view, there is a world of difference between achievements and accomplishments. Society imposes achievements (e.g., standardized tests), while accomplishments are the fulfillment of internal goals. Gopnik provides wonderful anecdotes supporting his belief that internal motivation and flow lead to true happiness and success. As a person's happiness grows, their ties to others and the community deepen, and this results in what he calls "mutual reliance." Gopnik's rousing book advocates that people of all ages try new things selfishly every day. If anyone has trouble finding joy in their passion, he recommends finding a "Violon d'Ingres"--a secondary passion that gives access to the first passion. VERDICT Many authors have written about happiness, yet few write about it in such a succinct and memorable way.--Chantal Walvoord

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